How lean marketing can help Indian start-ups avoid the ‘growth at all costs’ trap

Every founder believes his idea is smart. The Indian start-up ecosystem is brimming with innovation, so much so that the landscape has changed. There is no longer a shortage of ideas, but a flood of pitches challenging the venture capital world.

As serial entrepreneur and start-up expert Rajneesh Bhasin observes, “Every private equity firm today is flooded with pitches.” Investors are overwhelmed and are actively looking for reliable filters to separate truly scalable and sustainable businesses from cash-burning businesses. This environment in which investors “look to people like us to advise them” signals a profound shift; The focus is shifting from idea innovation to Proof of Concept (POC) and capital efficiency.

This was the theme behind the first session of The Unstoppables, the Founders Meeting and Learning series presented by Mint in conjunction with Fairfox. The first session, titled “Growth Without Burning: Sustainable Marketing for Early Stage Startups,” aimed to provide a framework for marketing to early stage founders.

The panel, consisting of Deepanshu Manchanda, Founder and CEO, Zappfresh, Rajneesh Bhasin and Rajesh Kumar, CMO, Lentra, touched on applicable strategies for start-ups. The consensus was clear: In an age of capital and idea overload, only businesses with a solid structure, proven unit economics and a clear brand vision can attract and retain serious funds.

Marketing: The essential part of startup success

The session began with the panelists reflecting on their own journeys and emphasizing that solid, sustainable marketing is the critical first step in enabling a start-up to survive initial chaos and prove its long-term viability. Rajneesh Bhasin, who has over 28 years of experience in global markets, said: “Marketing is the cornerstone of any start-up.” He noted that a common misstep for new companies is to prioritize other functions such as distribution and sales, turning to marketing only as an afterthought and often depending on available funds.

Bhasin argued that this approach was backward-looking and that timely investment in marketing could pave the way for “5x to 10x growth in a short period of time”. He emphasized that a large and diverse market like India needs to raise awareness: “India is a continent-sized country. If you want to sell in India, you need to launch a campaign and create noise about the product.”

Echoing this sentiment, Lentra’s Rajesh Kumar pointed out that a fundamental shift in the national mindset was required. He said: “In India, we have a manufacturing mentality where we create things in India but the profits are taken by foreign brands. To run a business successfully, we need to create as well as market goods.”

Kumar talked about the inherent limitations of early growth, where initial sales are often driven by founders, but after that initial momentum, scaling becomes a formidable hurdle without a deliberate marketing strategy. Arguing that marketing is often misunderstood in the digital age, he said: “Marketing is not social media. Marketing is not paid marketing. Marketing is not Google advertising. It’s one of the things you can do… We kind of get lost in the jargon. But building your name, building your reputation so people trust you. They understand what you’re trying to do. That’s marketing.”

Entrepreneurial perspective

Deepanshu Manchanda presented the perspective of an entrepreneur navigating the day-to-day realities of a start-up where every function is critical. He linked marketing directly to the financial sustainability of the company, especially in the absence of corporate support. “For a startup where there isn’t another major group backing this project, it all has a lot to do with how they can market the brand, whether it’s taking on debt or raising capital of any kind,” he said.

He also brought the focus back to core business principles, warning against premature scaling or complex strategies without a solid foundation. “Until you understand the problem you’re solving and the segment you’re serving, you’ll always be on slippery ground, no matter how much money you have and how great the product is. So avoid doing that and get the basics right,” he advised.

Talking about the theme of national potential, Kumar stated that now is the time for Indian brands to get the value they deserve on the global stage. “The next era is ripe for building global brands from India and expanding the appeal of existing brands beyond the Indian diaspora. There are not many notable examples and the sauce that is missing is marketing.”

The traditional setup is where Indian manufacturers retain only a small portion of the margin while the bulk is captured by foreign brands focusing on marketing. “What I really want to say is that as we grow as a country and as an economy, we understand our position better, we need to develop our name to make things that will sell in India,” Kumar said.

Brand and performance marketing problem

The panel then addressed the perennial debate between brand marketing and performance marketing. Manchanda offered a simple but powerful summary of the start-up’s choice: “I think the brand is what represents you forever, and as you grow as an organization, you increase brand value. Performance is really about converting leads into business,” he said.

He emphasized that performance may give immediate results, but the brand ensures longevity. He added: “You either fall behind performance or you fall behind brand building. But brand building is definitely a much longer-term game and that’s what will pay dividends in times to come.”

Building trust emerged as a central theme. This important factor, which applies at both B2B and B2C levels, stems from the fulfillment of commitments, Kumar said. “It takes time to build, but it also stays for a while,” he said, citing the importance of delivering the promised value. With a surprising approach to resource allocation, Manchanda advocated professional marketing assistance from the very beginning, even for start-ups with limited budgets.

“I think one should have a marketing agency from the very beginning,” he said, recommending a small, boutique agency that fits the budget. He argued that “packaging and presentation are really critical” for any product or service and that “the branding journey starts from the moment you think of the name this early.” However, the panel was quick to warn that it is not good to just brand and market on promises without delivering on them as it will take away the trust factor.

Avoid falling into the ‘growth at all costs’ trap

Bhasin issued a stark warning against unsustainable models, reinforcing the need for the filtering that VCs seek. “In my opinion, growth at any cost is impossible. Many companies are trying to create brands that have revenues of 500 crores and losses of 200 crores. This is not a sustainable business model. It doesn’t work. And most of these guys fall as they rise,” he warned.

His prescription for a solid business model is simple: a Proof of Concept (POC) at the unit level. He rejected the idea that “economies of scale will always bring efficiency”, stating that most successful businesses operate around a strong POC. He uses this unit-level profitability as a benchmark when recommending start-ups for private equity financing and emphasizes that a solid business can always be strengthened. The panel agreed that a successful start-up is determined by three factors and that money is not the most critical factor. The three key variables are: timing, stakeholder interest (including customers, funders, and employees), and finally money.

Mastering the marketing funnel

In the final section, speakers examined common oversights made by start-ups when guiding the consumer to the point of purchase. The consensus was that data quality and customer journey mapping are extremely important. Manchanda emphasized the difficulty of tracking branding efforts.

“It is very difficult to fit eyeballs into quantitative numbers… So, from a branding perspective, how many people see it and then how many people buy it is a very complicated thing… First of all, how much data you can capture is more critical,” he said. He emphasized that data, whether directly collected or purchased, should be verified before delivering promotional messages.